Exhibitions

EMERGE SELECTIONS 2021–

Featured images

Andrea Carlson, Ink Babel, 2014. Ink and oil on paper; 60 panels, approximately 115 × 183 in., overall
© Andrea Carlson, courtesy of the artist and Bockley Gallery
Caroline Kent, The Shorthand Typist, 2015. Acrylic on unstretched canvas; 108 × 72 in. Courtesy of the Artist and PATRON Gallery, Chicago
Photo: Evan Jenkins
Ebony G. Patterson, Shrubz, 2014. Jacquard woven photo tapestry with fabric flowers, tassels and hand-embellished plastic guns; 6 × 82 × 106 in. (15.2 × 208.28 × 269.2 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago
of

Text

The MCA’s Emerge group consists of donors who support the museum’s acquisition and education programs. Every year, this group selects and collectively funds the purchase of one major work by an artist not currently represented in the MCA Collection. This year, in collaboration with the MCA curatorial team, Emerge members proposed works by Andrea Carlson (Grand Portage Ojibwe, b. 1979), Caroline Kent (American, b. 1975), and Ebony G. Patterson (Jamaican, b. 1981) for consideration.

Andrea Carlson highlights Native American histories and considers the legacy of the erasure of Indigenous cultures. Ebony G. Patterson uses gardens as a metaphor for death and rebirth, alongside figures inspired by crime scene photos she sourced online. Caroline Kent composes her paintings using a visual vocabulary of abstract shapes and forms she’s developed over years of practice.

Emerge members cast their final votes in May 2021 to determine which of these artworks will be added to the MCA Collection.

Emerge

Installation Images

Installation view, Emerge Selections 2021, MCA Chicago, April 24–May 13, 2021. Work shown: Andrea Carlson, Ink Babel, 2014. Ink and oil on paper; 60 panels, approximately 115 × 183 in., overall. © Andrea Carlson, courtesy of the artist and Bockley Gallery
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Installation view, Emerge Selections 2021, MCA Chicago April 24–May 13, 2021 Work shown: Caroline Kent, The Shorthand Typist, 2015. Acrylic on unstretched canvas; 108 × 72 in. Courtesy of the Artist and PATRON Gallery, Chicago
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Installation view, Emerge Selections 2021, MCA Chicago April 24–May 13, 2021 Work shown: Ebony G. Patterson, Shrubz, 2014. Jacquard woven photo tapestry with fabric flowers, tassels, and hand-embellished plastic guns; 6 × 82 × 106 in. (15.2 × 208.28 × 269.2 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
of

Related content

Exhibitions